Day Three - Ancient Sites

A brilliant day! Except for a short shower mid afternoon, and about 5 minutes of drizzle early evening, it was sunny!

Unstan Chambered Cairn
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/westmainland/unstancairn/

Underwhelming, but still...it's a cairn.  

Stones of Stenness

Step back in time over 5000 years at what may be the earliest henge monument in the British Isles. The enormous Stones of Stenness are all that remains of a great stone circle on an ancient ceremonial site.

There was a guided tour at 10 a.m.

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/stones-of-stenness-circle-and-henge/

Barnhouse Neolithic Village

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/barnhouse/
Didn't walk down to see it. 

Ring of Brodgar

The Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge is an enormous ceremonial site dating back to the 3rd millennium BC.

https://www.visitorkney.com/things/history/ring-of-brodgar

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/ring-of-brodgar-stone-circle-and-henge/

Ness of Brodgar (covered over until the archaeological dig begins again in July)

http://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/

Skara Brae

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/skarabrae/

Long before Stonehenge or even the Egyptian pyramids were built, Skara Brae was a thriving village. Step back 5,000 years in time to explore the best-preserved Neolithic settlement in Western Europe.

First uncovered by a storm in 1850, Skara Brae remains a place of discovery today. Visit a replica Neolithic house to see how its full interior might have looked. Then follow the path that overlooks the ancient buildings, imagining what life was like for the farmers, hunters and fishermen who lived here. The prehistoric houses still contain stone ‘dressers’ and box-beds.

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/skara-brae/

 

Stromness

https://www.visitorkney.com/about/stromness

Stromness is lovely!  Great to wander around.  Stopped in at the Mariners Museum. 

Brough of Birsay

Low tide this evening is 7:28pm. So I had from 5:28 to 9:28 pm to walk across to the island and not get stuck. People were impatiently waiting for the tide to recede and some didn't wait...taking off shoes and wading across. I stayed for nearly 1 1/2 hours. Gorgeous! Sadly, didn't see any puffins.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/westmainland/broughofbirsay/

Reach this very special tidal island by causeway to explore Pictish, Norse and medieval remains. Brooches, rings and dress pins found on the Brough of Birsay suggest that it was a Pictish power centre.

The Norse settled the island 200 years later, in the 9th century, but may have lived peacefully alongside the Picts. It’s still possible to make out the remnants of Norse houses, barns and even a sauna. Later, a small church and monastery were built on Birsay.

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/brough-of-birsay/

Weather today: Gorgeous!  Warm and sunny.  Showers for about half an hour mid afternoon.  Drizzle for about 5 minutes just before crossing to the Brough of Birsay. Showers in evening as soon as I got back to hotel.  No complaints!

Sunrise/sunset:  4:36/21:41 (9:41pm)

Day Two - Kirkwall & Yesnaby

Cuween chambered cairn

5,000 year old neolithic tomb where bones of men, dogs, and oxen were found. https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/cuween-hill-chambered-cairn/

Didn't get to go here as the road was closed for maintenance.  

Yesnaby Cliff Walk
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/orkney/stromness-bay-of-skaill.shtml
Planned on doing this after dinner but the forecast for late afternoon was rain, so I did this first. 

Kirkwall
First I did gift shopping plus a couple of things for me.  
https://www.visitorkney.com/about/kirkwall

St Magnus Cathedral

The cathedral is a majestic, imposing and absolute 'must see' attraction. It is one of Orkney's
Viking splendours, a glorious example of Romanesque architecture and the most northerly cathedral in Britain.

Known as the 'Light of the North', the cathedral took over 300 years to build and dominates the Kirkwall skyline. It is the best preserved medieval cathedral in Scotland and built in 1137 at a time when Orkney was ruled by the Vikings. A stone minster was founded by Earl Rognvald in memory of his uncle St Magnus who was martyred on the island of Egilsay. His bones were returned to Kirkwall and placed in a shrine, drawing pilgrims to a site where it is said miracles took place!

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/stmagnus/magcath.htm

https://www.visitorkney.com/things/history/st-magnus-cathedral

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/kirkwall/stmagnus/

From the top of the Bishop's Palace

Bishop's Palace and Earl’s Palace

https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/bishops-and-earls-palaces-p247691

These palaces near St Magnus Cathedral are regarded as two of the finest examples of architecture in Scotland and highlight Orkney’s strong Norse and ecclesiastical links.

Kirkwall is the capital of Orkney. For centuries it was the capital of the Norse-held Nordreyjar – the Northern Isles. But that ended in 1469 when Christian I of Norway failed to pay the dowry promised to his son-in-law, James III of Scotland; James called in the debt by assuming sovereignty of Orkney and Shetland.

Orkney Museum

https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/the-orkney-museum-p251611

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/kirkwall/orkneymuseum/
I expected this museum to be very sparse but was amazed at how extensive their collection was. Spectacular!

Some woman's bones

Traditional Orkney chair

Weather today: gorgeous! It was sunny all day except for 3:30 - 5:30pm when it rained. Then turned sunny again. Temps were 18C+ with a light breeze. It got windier after the rain.

Sunrise/sunset: 4:38/21:39 (9:39pm)

Day one on Orkney

Took the 9:30 a.m. ferry from Gill's Bay to St Margaret's Hope on South Ronaldsay, about a one hour journey.  

First stop on my way north was the Italian Chapel.  

Italian Chapel

The Italian Chapel, a beautiful Roman Catholic chapel in Lamb Holm, was constructed by Italian POWs during the Second World War.

https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/the-italian-chapel-p253741

Next stop was the Visitor Centre in Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney, for maps, brochures, etc. 

My hotel is in a small village in a central location, but about 14 miles from the main town of Kirkwall.  Very nice and has a restaurant, a cafe and a pub on the site. 

http://www.smithfieldhotel.co.uk/

Broch of Gurness

An icon of Orkney's rich archaeological heritage. This impressive Iron Age complex is one of the most outstanding examples of a later prehistoric settlement to survive in Scotland.

https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/broch-of-gurness/

Weather today:  about 10C/50F but very, very windy.  

Sunrise/sunset:  4:41/21:36 (9:36pm)

Return to Orkney

Last summer I enjoyed a short visit to Orkney with my friend, Triana. Loved Orkney so much I am returning for a longer visit - 4 nights instead of 2.

Doing a solo trip this time and I'm driving up instead of flying and hiring a car. The total trip to the ferry at Gill's Bay for Orkney is just under 300 miles - 7+ hours - and all on two lane roads. I am splitting up the trip by spending the night in Wick. It's only another 30 minutes to the ferry which I will catch tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. So I'll have a good night's sleep before I arrive on Orkney.

https://www.visitorkney.com/

Ring of Brodgar from last summer's trip:

A very long drive to Wick today. Met an online friend who was here hiking and we a long chat in Fort William. One of her hiking partners came along as well. Nice visit.

I was gobsmacked by how stunningly gorgeous the drive up the A9 and A99 along the North Sea was!! No photos but will add videos later.